BAJAJ Allianz General Insurance Company says that risk
management has been its
Greatest strength. The company, which has managed to book
underwriting profits from first year of operation, attributes its
success to initiation of adequate control measures and adoption of
the right tools for managing the risks.
Speaking to Business Line, Mr Krishnamoorthy Rao, Head
(Underwriting), said the
Company introduced better claims control measures in every
segment, be it motor,
Health or travel. "We are concentrating on health insurance. This is
a growing market. About 8-10 per cent of our premium income is
from health. We hope to achieve Rs 100 crore premium from the
health segment this fiscal."

The company has formed an in-house health assessment team
comprising qualified
Medical professionals and paramedical staff. "We have until now
been working with
Third party administrators (TPAs). For better controls, we formed
this team, who can
Interact with the hospital and try and fix the unnecessary
procedures, if any," Mr
Krishnamoorthy said.he conceded that the premiums were high in
the health segment because of low volumes and rising healthcare
cost.

For motor, the company has gone to the extent of recruiting
experienced service
Engineers for better claims control. "While the public sector general
insurance

we
have our own team of engineers." he said in reply to a query.
The insured list includes fleet operators as well. the delay in settling the claims adds to the cost
by way of interest. he said
and added the company regularly rolled out products/package." he said. Conceding that both health and motor cover are high-risk
segments. This has to a large extent helped in
better claims control and in reducing the cost of servicing the
policy. where the third party
claims were high.
. Mr Krishnamoorthy said the company restricted itself
from greater exposure in Kerala market. but better
controls and management is essential." he
said." he said. Further. We try and clamp down on such expenses. It has also helped
in bridging the time gap and has enabled the survey team upload the
report directly into the system. "The problem with
most fleet operators is more in third party claims than own
damages. “The cost of issuing a
policy has fallen with the adoption of technology. We are in the process of
educating the people of Kerala. "You cannot avoid taking a risk. Yet
another potential area for exposure is the travel segment.Companies leave it to the surveyors to assess the damage/loss.